I Believe In You
by maddiemazi
Summary: It's the battle of Hogwarts and the Golden Trio are fighting for an end of the war. But they have an ally they didn't expect, and not sure they should trust - Draco Malfoy. Is it true that Draco really is on their side? And the more pressing question; does he really love Hermione?
1. Prologue

Removing the memories from her mind, Hermione placed them in the Pensieve. Concentrated, she thought to herself that she needed the memories that would be most helpful. Not knowing which memories would emerge from her mind, she swirled them once with her wand. She needed a clue, a guide. Praying to find something helpful, she took a deep breath and plunged into the water.

I stomped to the Prefects carriage. These people were hopeless. I couldn't possibly control them by myself. Ron would obviously be no help either. I swear, Gryffindor will be in ruins. I entered the train car and sat down frowning with my arms crossed. I was the first one there. Of course that would happen. The first day of me being a prefect and the Gryffindors had already blown something up. Just my luck. Ron had run off to "investigate the crime" which most likely meant that he was off to congratulate whoever did it on their fine job.

I sulked and took out my new copy of _Defensive Magical Theory _by Wilbert Slinkhard. I didn't have time to start reading before Pansy Parkinson stomped into the carriage, with Draco Malfoy slinking in behind.

"Already studying Granger?" Pansy snickered. What. A. Cow.

Draco and Pansy sat down opposite me and smirked. Ron entered in perfect timing, and sat down beside me. I was incredibly relieved. Hannah Abbott, Padma Patil, Ernie Macmillan and finally Anthony Goldstein settled into the carriage from my year, and several other sixth and seventh years. I was happy to see at least a few friendly faces. At last, the Heads entered and began instructing us on what we needed to do. I quietly slipped out my quill and parchment. With a few snickers from the Slytherins present, I began taking notes. I ignored them and focused on my duties as a prefect.

About an hour later, with Ron in tow, I scanned the Gryffindor carriage for Harry. I would just pop in and say hi before I had to patrol. I had volunteered to go first, that way I wouldn't have to leave midway through a conversation. I knew it was a terrible idea as soon as Malfoy volunteered as the male to supervise first. I just KNEW he was going to abuse this power. It made me sick to think about.

Ron and I found Harry, and with a quick hello, explanation, and dropping off of what bags I still had on me, I was off again. Because there were only two of us patrolling for the first round, we would each take two house carriages and stop in the first year carriage every once and a while. After all, they WERE first years, how much trouble could they possibly get into without knowing any magic? I was in charge of the Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws. One upside to Malfoy volunteering is that I didn't have to even LOOK at the Slytherins. I was perfectly fine with that.

It turned out that it wasn't that bad. I had popped in to chat with Ron, Luna, Neville and Ginny a few times and the rest of the students weren't doing anything too bad. I did have to help a first year with his Galleons, as he was a muggle-born like me and didn't understand them yet. I remembered those times. The little first year seemed so nervous and embarrassed, but I assured him that there was nothing to be ashamed of and that he would get used to it soon enough.

Now there were only a few minutes left in my duty, and nothing disastrous had happened on my time. I figured it was okay to go back and see my friends. Walking down the hall, I was consumed in my thoughts. I had already seen everybody I wanted to and I was back for another year. Even though Cedric's death was still fresh in everyone's mind, we were back and we would be safe at Hogwarts. I doubt that everyone would be so welcoming to Harry. I bet that they would prefer to imagine that he was lying so they didn't have to face reality. But I believed him, and so did the people who should really matter to him. Ron, Ginny, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Fred and George-

I stopped dead in my tracks. Where were Fred and George? I hadn't seen them at all. That definitely wasn't a good sign. I turned around and peeked into every single Gryffindor seat that I could find, starting at the back of the carriage. About half way through, I began to panic. There was still no sign of them. I hadn't seen Lee Jordan either when I thought about it. I knew they were somewhere on the train, but if I hadn't seen them, they were obviously up to something.

Hurrying, I scuttled further and further until I was only one set of seats away from the Prefect's carriage. Taking a huge breath, I peered around the door. There was the trio. But they weren't alone. A group of younger students were with them.

"Guys? What are you doing?" I asked, trying to control my nerves.

"Not much, just sitting on the train, going to Hogwarts. You?" Fred replied with a grin.

"You know that's not what I meant," I tried to reason.

"You're right. Don't you think she deserves an explanation, Freddie?" George said turning and facing his brother. I beamed with authority that the twins might actually listen to me.

"Oh, very much so. Why don't we just step into the hall?" Fred replied. I noted that Lee looked very surprised.

I smiled and stepped into the hall. Promptly after exiting the carriage Fred and George each linked one of their arms with mine, boxing me between them.

I probably should have seen that one coming.

"Well Hermione, what we are doing is nothing personal," George grinned.

"Just business!" Fred chuckled. The pushed me through the door to the prefect's carriage. It was a light push, just enough to make me stumble forwards, but I still wanted to get them for it.

"Sorry," Fred said insincerely, with a huge smile.

"Yeah, really, we will let you out when we're ready for your lecture - if we remember!" George continued.

They closed the door just as I was about to push past them. I heard the click of the lock.

"Alohamora!" I tried, but it was useless. They had obviously thought ahead.

"What did you do now Granger?" a smooth voice asked from behind me. Just my luck. Locked in with Malfoy. I spun around to face him, but he wasn't sneering like I expected him to be.

"I guess we'll be stuck with each other for a while then," he said with a smile. He sprawled on one of the soft bench couches that filled the carriage. I didn't move. This was so uncharacteristic of Malfoy, something had to be up.

"Well?" he asked accusingly while patting the seat next to him, motioning for me to sit down.

The scene changed. I was standing in the Prefect's bathroom. Draco was standing in front of me.

"Draco, honestly, you can trust me." I cooed, taking a small, tentative step forward.

"No, I can't. You can't help me." he snapped at me.

"I'm not going anywhere Draco. I know you've been in the room of requirement. Please, don't do anything stupid. I can help you. We can do it together."

He let out an non-humorous laugh. "You don't understand. You can't help me."

"Draco," I whispered, stepping forwards.

"Just go. Trust me, you will show me no sympathy again. Not after tonight."

I padded the rest of the length of the room in just a few seconds. I wrapped my arms around him and closed my eyes, breathing in his spicy scent. I expected him to fight, but in typical Draco style, he surprised me. He didn't even act like he was going to fight, he just collapsed into me and began to cry.

I was holding Draco as he cried silently into my shoulder. He was hunched over me and was sobbing uncontrollably. Convulsing, we held each other tightly. Draco's sobs began to become more quiet and distant until they stopped completely. He squeezed me a bit tighter before letting go.

"You are such an amazing witch, Hermione." Draco whispered. "Stay in your common room tonight. Stay out of the danger. Please, please, remember that I'm not the one that signed up for this. I was chosen, I didn't choose. I never wanted this to happen. Stay safe. Try to remember these past years. How we became friends. You don't have to tell Potter and Weasel-y. I'll miss you when I'm gone and you hate me." He smiled. It was a sad smile just the same.

"Draco, I don't understand? What are you trying to say?" I was honestly confused.

"You will know soon enough. I can't tell you - but really, make sure you rub it in Pansy's space that you were the last one to comfort me. Not her." he dryly joked, referring to how Pansy had cheated on him with Blaise earlier this year. She was still in a shock that Draco had been fine with it really, and just dumped her on the spot. She was convinced that Draco and I were together, but in reality we were just friends. And unless my feelings were mutual, that was all we would ever be.

"Why Draco?" I asked, slightly whining. I hated it when I couldn't figure out something and somebody kept the answer from me. Draco sighed painfully and rolled up his sleeve, exposing the black dark mark etched into his arm.

The scene changed again. I was being restrained by Finir Greyback, and Harry was being held by Bellatrix in front of me. However, from where I stood in the memory, I was standing on the opposite side of the room from myself.

"Well?" she peeped.

"I can't be sure." Draco whispered.

"Draco, look closely son." Malfoy said to him, grabbing the back of his neck. He looked terrified. "If we are the ones to hand Potter over to the Dark Lord, everything will be.. Well it will all be better for us. Do you understand?" Draco shivered.

"Now we won't be forgetting who actually caught him, I hope, Mr. Malfoy?" Scabior slithered, stepping from beside Greyback and towards Malfoy.

"You dare to talk to me like that in my own house!" Malfoy screamed, his grip tightening on Draco's neck. I saw him tilt his head back a bit, away from the pain.

"_Luscious!"_ Mrs. Malfoy hissed, stepping towards her son and spouse. Malfoy removed his hand from Draco, and Mrs. Malfoy gently dragged him away from Draco.

"Don't be shy sweetie, come over!" Bellatrix cooed, taking Draco's hand and bringing him closer to Harry. "Now, if this isn't who we think it is Draco," she ordered as Draco kneeled, "and we call him, he'll kill us all. We need to be absolutely sure."

Draco swallowed. "What's wrong with his face?" he asked. Normally, from a Malfoy, this would be taken as an insult, but Draco didn't say it like that. He said it so he sounded honestly concerned. Bellatrix obviously didn't pick up on this.

"Yes, what IS wrong with his face?" she demanded.

"He came to us like that. Something he picked up in the forest I recon." Scabior responded, almost sounding bored.

"Like ran into a stinging jinx? Was it you dear?" She questioned, pointing her wand at me. Greyback's grip tightened, and I didn't move. For a split second, I saw Draco's eyes leave Harry's face and look at the ground, as if trying to hear without being too obvious. He looked back quickly as Bellatrix began to shout again.

"Give me her wand! We'll see what her last spell was!" Bellatrix taunted. Draco leaned slightly back. He looked worried, and you could visibly see it in his face. His father tapped him on the shoulder, and he jumped at the touch. He stood beside his father obediently.

"Got you!" Bellatrix laughed, pointing at me. She continued to laugh until she suddenly stopped and gasped.

Talking to one of the snatchers, she gasped, "What's that? Where did you get that from?"

"It was if her bag when we searched her. Recon it's mine now!" he replied with a smirk. The sword of Gryffindor moved in his hand as he talked.

Bellatrix hit him with a spell, the sword flying into her hands and in one swift movement, she slit the throat of another snatcher. She entangled Greyback's neck with the black curtains that hung from the walls. He made a choking sound.

"Are you mad?" Scabior screeched. Bellatrix turned to him and at once, his throat was entangled too and he was making the same choking noises. She dragged him towards her, and the choking increased.

"GO! GET OUT!" she screamed at Greyback and Scabior, releasing their throats. Holding their necks, they didn't question, and began to teeter towards the door.

"Put the boy in the cellar! We need to have a little conversation!" Bellatrix shouted as Mrs. Malfoy dragged Ron away. She got so close to my face that I could smell the rot of her breath. "GIRL TO GIRL!" she cried. I was breathing deeply, terrified. Draco took a small step forwards, fear on his face, but he stopped.

Bellatrix pinned me to the floor and laid on top of me. "That sword is meant to be in my vault at Gringotts. How did you get it?" She whispered loudly, her face just inches from mine. The panic was evident on my face and I was crying.

"WHAT DID YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS TAKE FROM MY VAULT?" she screamed into my face. Draco winced.

"We didn't take anything! Please! I didn't take anything!" I sobbed. Draco whimpered a bit in the back of his throat. He was staring at the two of us on the floor, his mouth in an evident frown and worry lines on his face.

"I don't believe it." she spoke quickly, producing a sharp blade from her robes. She dug it into my skin. It went in so deep and it was so painful. I screamed, despite myself. Once I realized I had, I screamed again, louder. Draco closed his eyes and balled his hands into fists.

"Try again? What did you take?" she asked, cocking her head.

"Nothing!" I cried.

"LIAR!" she yelled, and dug the blade into me again. I started screaming anew.

"IT'S A FAKE! THE SWORD IS A FAKE!" I sobbed. Draco tilted his head back. I saw him mouth something to himself, but the only word that I caught was 'unbelievable.'

Bellatrix sat up. "Wormtail, fetch the Goblin." She choked. He departed and went towards where Harry and Ron had just been taken. "We will see," she said. Draco let out the breath that he had been holding in.

Again, the scene changed. I was standing slightly behind Harry in the room of requirement. I was in the row next to him, trying desperately to find the diadem that we so desperately needed. I was searching so hard, that I almost thought that it was my imagination when I heard his voice.

"Well, well. What brings you here Potter?" Draco asked. I let out a small gasp and peered around an old stack of furniture. It really was Draco. He had his wand ready, and both Goyle and Zabini were behind him, ready to cast as well. They looked especially menacing. I decided to stay quiet.

"I could ask you the same." Harry chose his words carefully.

"You have something of mine. I'd like it back." Draco said quickly; smoothly.

"Well, what's wrong with the wand you have?" Harry questioned, gesturing to the wand in Draco's hand. Please, please don't fight. I couldn't stand to watch that. If it got that far, I'd have to intervene.

"It's my mother's. It's powerful, but it's… not the same. Doesn't quite understand me. Know what I mean?" Draco sneered, tightening his grip.

"Why didn't you tell her, Bellatrix? You knew it was me. You didn't say anything," Harry pointed out innocently, but tauntingly. Don't Harry, please don't start another fight. Please, Harry. I knew he was a Deatheater, but he didn't want to be. He had no choice. Please spare him.

Draco looked down, and his hand shook a little, like there was something he was hiding that Harry had just put out in the open. There probably was.

"Do him Draco," Goyle whispered. Draco looked up. "Don't be a prick. Do him!" he spat wildly at Harry through crazed eyes. Draco's eyes narrowed a little and his grip tightened.

"Easy!" Draco said as Harry began to take his wand out of his pocket.

I jumped from my hiding spot. "EXPELLIAUMUS!" I yelled, pointing the spell at Draco. My voice cracked as I stepped in front of Harry. Draco gasped when he saw me, and turned and began to run.

"Avada Kedavra!" Goyle roared.

"STUPEFY!" I cried. The spells collided in the air, sending an object flying. When Harry too in his breath sharply, I knew it had to be the diadem. That was what he had been trying to protect.

Goyle and Zabini began to run after Draco. Out of nowhere, Ron came running.

"THAT'S MY GIRLFRIEND YOU NUMPTIES!" he screamed. I really did love Ron, but I had to admit that I was embarrassed and a little hurt that he had called me his girlfriend in front of Draco. But I had to smile at his wit.

I looked at Harry. He had began to climb the stack of furniture I had been hiding behind. He threw a chair out behind him. I stood and watched. I wanted to tell him about Draco, but I didn't want to distract him. He grabbed something and threw it out of the way. A flock of what looked like Imps flew out of the furniture, squawking loudly at Harry. He kept climbing. I began to go after him in case he needed help. Sure enough, the diadem was stuck under an old couch, which I helped Harry move just enough that he could pry it out.

"GOT IT!" He shouted.

We made eye contact and he knew something was wrong. Where was no time for him to ask, so I just told.

"You said that Ron fancied Chloe. Is it still true? Because Draco…" I started.

"As far as know," Harry said, climbing down. Both of us heard a small whooshing and distant screams. We jumped down and looked in the direction that they were coming from. I narrowed my eyes. There was a bit of a glowing, orange reflection on a stack of something ahead of us. I strained to hear what was happening as the screams got closer.

Ron sprinted around the corner, jacket flying out behind him. "AHHHH GOYLE SET THE BLOODY PLACE ON FIRE!" he screamed, as he grabbed my arm and kept running. We were sprinting through the halls, Harry was right behind us.

No longer paying attention to where we were running, we rounded several corners and passed various objects, Harry seemed to be falling further behind, but I knew that he would catch up. I wouldn't have been able to stop to get him anyway, Ron's grip was too tight on my hand. We rounded another corner with what looked like a hall with glass jars and potions. There was the Fiendfyre coming from there, so we turned. Every entrance was blocked by it. I began to pant a bit. I couldn't see any way out of this. Harry managed to hold it off for a few seconds, but we were doomed. Ron fell to the ground beside me. He stood up and picked up a few objects leaning against the shelf. A broom had never looked so inviting.

He tossed one to each of us. I still wasn't comfortable on brooms, but I mimicked the way the boys pushed off of the ground. Soon enough, I was soaring through the air, above the fire, at top speed. I was bringing up the rear of our trio, with Harry up front and Ron in the middle.

"Come on, this way!" Ron shouted. Just as he did, I saw two moving figures standing on top of a stack of furniture. I let out a small scream. I couldn't leave Draco, but what else was I supposed to do? The board on which they had been standing suddenly slipped. Both Draco and Zabini fell backwards, and I had so much terror inside of me that I couldn't even talk.

"We can't just leave them!" Harry called. My heart skipped a beat. We were already so far ahead of them that I had already started preparing myself to the fact that I would never see Draco again.

"He's joking right?" Ron yelled. I gave him a quizzical look, which I think he took as agreement. Harry banked hard, and we followed him.

Being in the back, I was switched to be at the front after we turned. I maneuvered to where Draco had been standing before, and reached over my broom. I wasn't balanced or practiced enough to lean over, so I just hoped. I saw Draco's hand come off of the stack and I felt his fingers brush mine, but I wasn't close enough. I looked back behind me and he was struggling to get that hand back on the stack. He was hanging at an extremely dangerous angle. I swooped back around.

"If we die for them Harry, I'm going to kill you!" Ron screamed. The boys were ahead, and I watched as Ron grabbed Zabini and as Harry grabbed Draco. I took the lead and dodged falling obstacles, heading to the door. I concentrated, and pushed the fire out of our way just long enough for the five of us to fit through.

_The door needs to be open_. I thought. Of course, being the room of requirement, the door opened at my thought. I soared through the doorway. There was only one problem. I didn't know how to stop.

I rammed the broom into the floor, and I went flying. I heard someone land behind me, and I turned just in time to see Harry and Draco make just as graceful an exit as I did. Rolling in a tangle on the floor, Draco bolted up. He searched around the hall once. He found my eyes, and after he did, he sprinted off.

The memories became a blur and I pulled up. What I had overlooked before had been brought out. I knew what to do. I ran from the headmaster's office to find Draco.


	2. Chapter One: Trust

"You don't think he went down to the forest, did he?" I whispered. Ron and I had looked everywhere, but didn't find him. I knew we were both thinking it, just neither of us had said it aloud for fear of it being true. Harry wouldn't do that would he? He had to realize that none of us died for him, we died in the battle against you-know-wh… Voldemort.

"I don't know. He's not that dense, do you think?" Ron replied, putting his arm gingerly around my shoulders. The staircases were no longer moving, and we ran down towards the entrance hall.

"But Ginny hasn't even seen him! Do you think… do you think he would think that he would just leave? He would probably think that it would be easier without a goodbye, and that we would try to stop him. If he left… Ron if he went to the forest, I never got to say goodbye." I stuttered, holding back tears that seemed inevitable.

"Hermione, I didn't get to say goodbye to Fred either. It's not supposed to happen like that. It's just not natural." Ron choked.

"STUPEFY!" we both yelled as a Deatheater rounded the corner. We grinned at each other, though both of us didn't feel much like grinning.

"Mione, can we please go somewhere to talk?" Ron suddenly asked, pained.

"Now? Your brother is dead and your best friend is going to die and you want to TALK?" I asked, practically yelling at him. I knew that I had touched a nerve because he flinched and his step faltered a bit.

"We don't know that. And it's important," he said quietly.

"How's here?" I sighed, gesturing to my right.

"Honestly? HERE?" Ron questioned.

"Well you're the one who wanted to talk! And honestly, how many people know about it?"

We walked into the girl's bathroom, and over to the sink. I looked at Ron with raised eyebrows. He had just opened it, he had to know how to get in again. He stared at me for a few seconds until he caught on, and then began to speak towards the sink.

"_Has-sass-asha-assha-mine_" he croaked, in a very rusty voice. Nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing. And again. After a few tries, he was practically screaming in frustration.

"Who's there!" someone called from the door. Ron and I looked at each other and raised our wands, sliding into one of the stalls. We stood on top of it so we could peek over the top and see who it was. The person walked towards the mirror and sink we had just been standing beside. They were obviously a Deatheater, dressed in all black, and limping a little. Although they were dressed in all black, it flattered whoever it was, and it looked expensive. They leaned against the sink and leaned forwards, as if to check their appearance. However it didn't take me long to realize that they were in fact watching the mirror to see who was in the bathroom other then themselves. I motioned for Ron to be quiet and to duck. He did so, but the movement must have drawn the Deatheater's eyes and he spun around. Stalking towards us with his wand ready, he looked extremely tall and menacing. We didn't have much time. I jumped down and got my wand out. Ron also stepped down, teeth grinding, ready to take whomever it was down.

Waiting was the hardest part. We knew he would get to us, but it seemed like an eternity. For a long while, nothing happened. Just when I was about to exit the stall myself, the door blew off.

"Avada Kedavra!" the voice cried.

"Protego!" I screamed.

"Petficus Totalus!" Ron yelled, just a few milliseconds after I had pronounced my protection charm. As usual, my spell was very effective. Overly, if I do say so. Not only did it block the Deatheater's killing curse, but also Ron's spell. It bounced off and hit me in my hip, but it still worked. Growing stiff and unable to move, I hit the ground on my side, strait as a board.

Ron screamed at the person to stop as the Deatheater stepped forwards. It was just enough of a give away for him to cut Ron using one of the Half Blood Prince's spells. It couldn't be Snape could it? No that was a stupid idea, Snape was dead. And was Ron okay? His shoulder was cut, but it wasn't deep and it was just bleeding enough to be annoying and distracting for a few seconds. In those few seconds, the Deatheater was right over me, crouching behind me just above my left ear.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Ron screamed at him when he realized his mistake. The Deatheater didn't move, but did something unexpected. He released the grip on my body. I sagged and rolled onto my back, coughing. Even looking right up into his face, I couldn't tell who it was as he was silhouetted against the light behind him.

"I'm warning you. Step away. Now." Ron threatened, his voice showing a bit of fury.

Again, the Deatheater ignored him. He just started to roll up the sleeve on my left arm. I thought that this was odd, but there was no use fighting. They unbinded me, so how bad could they be? Probably extremely, but I got a good feeling about this person, like they were on our side for some reason. My shirt was fairly baggy, and rolled up all the way to my shoulder. Once my entire arm was exposed, the person turned my arm slightly towards them. My scars were visible from Bellatrix that day in Malfoy Manor. I was still a little hurt that Draco, my friend, the one I loved, hadn't even attempted to get his insane aunt off of me. I self-consciously, raised my hand to cover my scars, but the Deatheater gently grabbed my hand and pinned in back to the floor, reaching across me with solid, powerful arms that were being very careful. It was then that I smelled it. It was very potent, but it drove me wild in a good way. It was a spicy scent that I had smelled so many times before. The third scent I smelled that day in Slughorn's Potions class.

Ron threw an unspoken spell at him, and he blocked it, not even standing. Ron tried again and the same thing happened.

"FIGHT BACK!" He yelled.

"If you won't cooperate, I'll have to do this," the Deatheater said fluently, smoothly, and without emotion.

Ron smirked and tried the spell again. This time, the Deatheater didn't block, he also sent a spell in Ron's direction, which hit him square in the chest.

"Sit down and shut up," the voice commanded.

"Draco, release him, he's not doing any harm." I pleaded.

"If he wasn't trying to kill me for helping you, I would. I'm not going to keep him hostage, don't worry. If I were to take anyone, it would be you, you are far more the bribe," he joked, but without a smile. It scared me that he didn't smile. I didn't know the new Draco. What if he was serious? I tensed, and for the first time since I realized who it was, I was afraid.

Draco sighed and dug something out of his pocket. "Hermione, if you trust me, this will make that go away," he spoke, gesturing to my arm. I again subconsciously tried to cover it, but Draco went to grab my hand again. Thinking better of it, he drew his hand back. He let his fall beside him, waiting for a response.

"What is it? I've tried everything!" I nervously said. Maybe I should have run as soon as my body was unbinded.

"I used a piece of Bellatrix's hair to make this potion. Anything that follows the wizarding principles that she has done can be repaired using this potion. Given, it will sting, but it will heal that - that foul statement etched into you." he explained, holding the vile out for me to examine. I didn't take it, I didn't need to.

"I trust you Draco, but please don't make a fool out of me." I said, sitting up. I was ready, but not very keen on the stinging. But if Draco was to use it on me, I had to trust that I would be fine. I took a deep breath as he unstoppered the potion. Was Draco really trustworthy? I guess there was only one way to find out.


	3. Chapter Two Intelligence

It seemed like ages as Draco dropped the vile towards my arm. I sucked in my breath as he started to tip it, and he immediately turned it back to it's original vertical position.

"You don't have to Hermione," Draco cautiously said.

"I want to," I whispered, trying not only to convince Draco, but myself as well. Draco offered me his hand, and I lightly took it. I took a deep breath, and Draco lowered the potion with a steady hand, very concentrated. Only one drop had hit my arm, but my grip automatically tightened around Draco's hand. I could feel a scream building up inside of me.

Draco continued to drip the potion, one drop at a time onto my arm. I was gripping his hand so tightly that I was surprised he wasn't pulling away. After about a dozen drops, I couldn't take it anymore and began to scream.

"Shh, it's okay, it'll be over soon," Draco cooed to me. He had paused momentarily, and I took this chance to glance down at my throbbing arm. Where the Potion had hit, the scars were newly reopened. What was he doing to me? What had I trusted him to do? But now I was paralyzed in fear and pain. I couldn't move, let alone get Ron and run.

Draco began to drop it again, this time hurrying, as if on the verge of pouring it. The screams began anew, and my back arched from the floor, my legs slightly kicking. Draco's hand never shook, like a snake, waiting silently to attack it's prey. He did end up rushing the end as his patience was wearing thin, and he finished by pouring the potion onto the "UD" of the scars. This made me roll my head back, and close my eyes. It was excruciating, and anything that hurt this badly had to be unforgivable. Draco had proven just moments ago that he was not shy of using unforgivable curses, and I had just let him pour a potion that I had never heard of on me.

Draco had stopped pouring, but the stinging was worse then ever.

"Come here! Hurry!" Draco boomed. Ron came running over. "Sit. NOT THERE, over here! Now, look into my mind. Follow my steps." Draco instructed. Ron did exactly as he said. He suddenly broke off from the intent stare that he was giving Draco, and leaned over me. Touching my arm with the tips of his fingers, he suddenly drew back, yipping in pain. Draco looked shocked, but his face quickly turned to a grin. "Never mind Weasel, I'll do it myself. Just sit there and don't move."

Draco, giving me an evil-looking smile, moved from his crouching position beside me to a kneeling one, and bent so that one of his hands was behind my head, and the other was still holding mine. I noticed that my neck was extremely vulnerable, and the bleeding mess on my arm was completely under his control. I shivered at the thought. Draco got closer towards me, looking as if he were going for my jugular, but he turned his head at the moment I was about to scream again. He put his ear mere millimeters from the blood still seeping from my arm.

"I'll make it go away. I promise. You're not a Mudblood. Never will be." Draco said, just barely making enough sound for me to hear. I small sob escaped my throat, and he turned his head so that it was his lips that were nearly grazing my arm. He took in a deep breath through his nose, his shoulders rising. When his lungs were full, he slowly released the air onto my arm. It was extremely odd having Draco breath onto my arm, but I wasn't in any place to question. It stung madly, but it was dulling. What had been unbearable pain was now somewhat bearable. I watched Draco as he closed his eyes and lightly bit one of the scars. In that spot, the pain became a pinch between Draco's teeth, and as soon as he removed the pressure, it was gone. He quickly fluttered his eyes open and observed his work for a few seconds. He seemed pleased. Smiling, he closed his eyes again and continued down my arm until the last pinch was felt and I was quiet. My arm felt like there were sparks floating under the surface of my skin. There was a pool of blood underneath me, staining the knees of Draco's pants. Still smiling, he sat up and opened his eyes. Using the sleeve of his flawless jacket, he wiped the access blood from me. It didn't stain my skin like I expected it to, it came off smoothly leaving me smooth and free of the scars. I looked up at Draco and almost jumped out of my skin.

Blood was smudged all over his face, mostly around his mouth and lips. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought that he may have been a vampire. A trail had run down his chin and was currently seeping into his shirt. He looked like the living dead. He still smiled at me, his stunning blue eyes finding mine. He let go of my hand and head simultaneously.

"You are free," Draco said, his eyes not leaving mine, and his smile not faltering. It was contagious, and I couldn't help but smile too. I saw Ron stand up out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't turn when I sat up.

"Stupefy," Ron spat. Draco wasn't ready for it, and you could see the surprise on his face as he was blown away from my side and hit the sink with a deafening crack. Sagging limply to the floor, he moaned, his right hand falling beside him and his left crossing over his body. He closed his eyes and was still.


	4. Chapter Three Admit

That was stupid. I closed my eyes as I hit the sink. I slid down from where I had landed and felt something jab into my back. But the pain wasn't comparable to that of my embarrassment. And I _did not _get embarrassed. Weasel would pay for that one.

I considered just laying on the floor. It was so much cooler, more comfortable then the real world, and the pain going on around us. Maybe I could just stay here forever. Hide from it all. Maybe somebody else would take the responsibility. I wouldn't have to do anything.

Something gingerly brushed my cheek. Slightly hoping that it was death, I didn't move. There was a cold, light touch just under my jaw, and I could feel my own pulse below it. Of course I was still alive. Nothing would ever come easily for me. The coldness moved from my neck and onto my face, stretching from my chin to almost my eye. I rested my head on it, not caring what was going on.

"Draco. Draco, please look at me," a voice said from next to me and the fingers on my face began to curl, so just the nails were brushing my face. I opened my eyes to see the waiting sparkle of the large brown eyes ahead of me. Hermione's shoulders sagged in relief and she leaned forwards and hugged me around my shoulders. I gingerly lifted my arms and rested them on her back. I couldn't do this. It was sick and it was wrong. But I couldn't find the strength to pull back.

Hermione held me tighter for a second, but then she hit the pain in my back and I jumped. She let go immediately and I put my hand on my back, wincing. I brought my hand back around and looked at it. I couldn't tell if it was Hermione's blood or mine. I tried to stand up, but I slid back down.

"Granger… Am I… Am I bleeding?" I asked. She stood up and walked to my other side and gasped. Luckily, I couldn't see her face. I really didn't want to know how bad it was.

"Whatever it is, just please take it out." I said evenly. I had had worse, and I didn't want to scare her.

"It's going to hurt Draco…" Hermione told me timidly.

"Just do it." I tried to say smoothly, but it came out a bit sharp. I made a mental note to control my temper with her. Even if she was being an annoyance, she was just trying to help. She gingerly put one hand on my back and my shoulders pushed together away from it. She pulled back for a second, then put it back with my strength than before. In a few seconds, the dull tugging I had felt before was gone and was replaced by a feeling of openness on my back. Hermione let out an unintelligent word that I had never heard her use before and threw something in front of us.

"Vulnera Sanentur," Hermione whimpered, without the usual confidence. My back tightened again, and I knew that it she had done the right thing. I leaned slightly forwards and Hermione again spoke. "Tergeo," she said as she waved her wand over first me and then herself. The blood had disappeared off of both of us and I smiled.

"You're lucky Hermione has sympathy you evil ferret," Weasel spat, emerging from the shadows. I ignored him and turned back to Hermione.

"Were you trying to get into the Chamber?" I asked, and she nodded. "Help me up," I commanded. She grabbed my hand and pulled forwards. Once I was again on my feet, I purposely walked over the piece of bloody, broken glass from where Hermione had tossed it, and crushed it below the sole of my shoe. I smirked at Weasel and turned to face the bloodstained sink.

"_Open, and reveal the entrance. Let them do what they need to._"

Weasel stepped sideways and Hermione was excessively still as the entrance opened. One of the many perks of nearly killing the Headmaster of Hogwarts. You became good at many bad things. After I got the dark mark, the Parsletounge wasn't hard to learn once I got into the right state of mind.

"Well? You were heading into the Chamber?" I tried to break the tension.

"We WERE, until we were so rudely interrupted," Weasel roared with a glare. I tried not to whip out my wand and hex him right there. Clenching my teeth, I bit back a retort.

"I best be going then, haven't I?"

"Yeah, to the forbidden forest, where you belong with the rest of your Deatheater scum. Rot in Hell Malfoy," Weasel spat. I wanted to wheel around and kill him, I really did. But he had touched a nerve, and he was right. There was nothing untruthful about his statement. I had stopped moving and was standing still. Trying to summon my dignity, I turned my head slightly, and continued to walk to the door.

"RON!" Hermione shrieked. But I was already too far gone to care what those two thought. Soon they would have to join my side anyway. If Potter really had gone to the forest, the World was doomed.

_Hermione's Perspective_

Draco turned his head slightly so that I could just see his profile. He looked extremely dark and dangerous. What had he been thinking? He had just helped me, was seriously injured by Ron's spell, then he tries to help him again and Ron basically calls him You-know-Who's right hand man.

"RON!" I screamed, not sure of what else to do, but Draco had already left. He looked at me with a glazed, angry expression and I tried my hardest not to burst into tears. Nothing was right. But I couldn't blame Ron, one of Draco's kind had just killed his brother. It may even have been one of Draco's friends. I stalked halfheartedly over to where Draco had crushed the broken glass. I carefully picked up one of the bigger pieces and held it between my fingers.

"Well are we going Ron?" I asked, clearing the silence.

"I can't say what I was going to after that Mione, its bad timing!" Ron tried to reason. I turned slowly to face him.

"Ronald Weasley, you better tell me this instant! I have no idea where my best friend is, I just lost the closest thing to a brother I had, and now you pushed the only source of information about the Dark side back towards Voldemort! Draco is my friend, if he was going to kill us he would have done it years ago!" I bellowed.

"Since when do you defend _Malfoy!_ You really want to know?" I nodded. "Mione, I love you, but you are my best friend. It was more 'spur of the moment' then anything. Please don't hate me, but I could never see us like… THAT. I love you Hermione, and I could never live without you, but I am in love with someone else." He said carefully, his eyes darting around the room, trying to find the words.

"I feel the same." I spoke suddenly.

"You - you do?"

"Yeah, I do."

After a long pause, with the chamber still open, I finished the unspoken question between us.

"I'm in love with Draco Malfoy."


	5. Chapter Four: Victory

Ron took a step back with a disgusted look on his face.

"You CANNOT be serious?" he asked, but it sounded more like a promise then anything.

"I'm serious. I love Draco." I murmured, tears beginning to form in my eyes. I couldn't look at Ron, this is exactly why I didn't tell him before.

"Bloody Hell."

I stood not moving, I didn't know what to do. Still staring at the ground to avoid Ron's gaze I took a deep breath. Ron began to walk over and embraced me in a warm hug. At his touch, my chin hit my chest and the tears began to flow. I didn't exactly know why I was crying, but it was almost comforting for it to just happen.

"We have to go, somebody will find us." Ron said as the tears began to stain his shirt. I nodded and turned, completely forgetting about the still open chamber. Ron kept his arm around me and I leaned on him as we walked out of the bathroom. I tried to rein in my emotions as I raised my wand and Ron pushed open the door.

All of the Deatheaters were gone; they had been commanded back. There was really no reason to have our wands out, but both of us felt more comfortable. We started walking towards the Gryffindor tower - the only place we hadn't checked. Walking through the rubble, we stepped around several bodies of fallen Deatheaters and various pieces of rock and debris. We had only been walking for a few minutes when we came across a body from our side. The twisted profile of Romilda Vane lay ahead of us. I let out a low sob as Ron and I raised our wands and lifted Romilda to join the rest of the dead in the Great Hall.

_Draco's Perspective_

I didn't trust that Chamber. Nothing good ever came from it. So I waited in the shadows outside to make sure the pair got out safely before I left the nitwits be.

After only a few minutes, they came out of the bathroom, Weasel holding Hermione and she was crying into him. My heart skipped a beat, what had he done to her? I would kill him. I really would. Even if I really had no feelings for Hermione, I once had, and if he had hurt someone I had actually felt for, he was in deep sh-

They rounded the corner. Deciding that it would be better to know what I was going to torture him for before I did it, I followed them. They didn't turn back.

I saw them find a body. I recognized him as a younger Gryffindor girl from Hogwarts, but she didn't mean much to me. I watched them bring her and lay her with the rest of the bodies. Still not making my presence known, I continued to follow them on their way.

They were just rounding the corner to what I realized was the Gryffindor residence when I felt an intense pain on my left arm. Gripping it, I drew in my breath and swore. I made just enough noise for Hermione to notice and she turned her head just in time to see me drop to my knees, still holding the moving, trickling black on my arm that was now visible past my many layers of clothes that had previously been on top of it. She whipped around, leaving Weasel in a daze and kneeling beside me. She just sat there, as if unsure what to do. I wanted her to leave, to go away and leave me in my pain, but I couldn't do it, so I had to watch as she watched me suffer.

With one sudden jolt, the snake stopped moving and the skull's mouth seemed to move instead.

"_Victory is ours!" _it screamed. I fell onto my side, half in shock and half in pain. It had never talked before, let alone in English. This was not good. Not good at all.

I looked up and into Hermione's eyes. I hadn't noticed that she was still crying. Pushing past the emotional barrier that she had formed around herself, I tried to translate the message.

"They've got him." I choked. I pushed myself up, Hermione watching, unclear what I meant. I walked over to where Weasel stood, and punched my hand against the wall several times, closing my eyes. I let my fist slide down and rested my head against the brick.

"The Dark Lord got Potter. It won't be long now."


	6. Chapter Five: Freedom

Time past. No one spoke. From my collapsing to the ground, they knew.

I got up to walk and tell the others. No one else would know. I had to be the one to tell them. Weasel and Hermione followed without a sound behind me. It was all over. The despair was felt between us, and we were so devastated we couldn't even cry out. He was the only hope we had had. Now he was gone. We entered the Great Hall and I told them. Half insane, it was all a blur. We all exited into the entrance hall, where we made our way around the entrance where Deatheaters were parading. Voldemort was pushing his own dead off of the side of the bridge. Above everyone else's heads, there was the figure of the big oof Hagrid. Normally I would have turned away, but he was roped up, as if in chains, and was holding the limp body with jet black hair and round glasses.

No one spoke.

Ginny, who came from the opposite direction, asked her father who it was. But of course we knew the answer.

"HARRY POTTER IS DEAD!" Voldemort cheered, turning towards the army of Deatheaters and they began to laugh. He turned back towards us, the smile evident on his twisted face. He began to laugh as well. It was horrible, like it was his first time laughing and he didn't know how.

"And now is the time to declare yourself," he said, still with the smile and outstretched arms. "Come forward and join me," he grinned, but lost the traces of happiness as he said the next words. "Or die."

I looked down, considering going over. All was lost anyway, and what was the point of dying for a lost cause? But I looked up again and stayed where I was.

"Draco!" my father called, after seeing my slight movement when everyone else was still. I didn't move.

"Draco, come." my mother started too, her eyes locking with mine. Her chin dropped the slightest bit, pleading, but inviting. Even if I didn't have any respect for my father, my mother hadn't gotten me into any of this. I trusted and loved her.

With a quick look to my left and right, I stepped down and began walking towards my mother from across the court. The only sound was of my shoes hitting in rhythm on the ground, and echoing all around. Walking up, I saw the face of Dean Thomas above all of the others. His glare made me want to shrink down into the ground, but I kept walking.

I passed Hermione and the Weasleys. Ron was still holding Hermione, and she was leaning forwards with her brows knitted together. I'm sure my facial expression was much of the same. I didn't say anything to her as I passed, making my way over to the rest of the Deatheaters. With as much courage as I could hold in myself, I was going to walk right past Voldemort to get to my mother.

"Well done Draco," he hissed as I was about to pass. He wrapped his arms around me and I was engulfed in so much terror that I couldn't even move. I felt the wand on my back and tried my best to keep from crying out. Thank Merlin, it only lasted a few seconds and he released me unharmed. I practically ran to my mother, who took my hand and turned. I was a little surprised, but I didn't complain. She gently pulled me through the mob of Deatheaters until the crowd broke and we walked by ourselves across the bridge. She didn't let go of my hand, even when the crowd behind us began to laugh. I looked back to see my father pushing his way through the last few people. He stumbled forwards a few steps, turned and stared at his brethren for a few seconds, then ran ahead to join us.

He walked beside my mother, away from me.

"Where do you want to go, sweetheart?" my mother asked me.

"I don't know. Why are we leaving?"

"It's not safe for us here anymore. We can come back when it's over, but for now, we need to be gone," she told me, with compassion evident in her voice.

"Why?" I asked, childishly.

Before she could answer, there was a great ruckus behind us, I turned to watch as spells were shot around. At first glance, I would have thought that it was a slaughter of those who had not joined, but it looked like it was the Deatheaters that were scattering, not the others. I stopped and looked at my mother. She didn't need me to ask to know my question.

"He's alive."

"What?"

"He's alive. Voldemort got me to check to see if he was dead and he had survived again. I asked him if you were alive, and he told me the truth; that you were alive. I trusted him, and I didn't want his life for yours. So I told Voldemort that he was dead. Now we, and everyone else, have a chance."

I stepped over to my mother and wrapped my arms around her. I loved her so much. She risked everything. I would never forget it.

"I have to go back and fight. I love you. I will meet you… how about in Weasley Wizard Wheezes this time tomorrow? They will never think to find us there."

My mother had a worried frown. Lucius looked bored.

I thought my mother was going to argue, but instead she surprised me. "Be careful Draco. Make sure I get to see your lovely face in one piece again." she said. I kissed her on the cheek and ran back towards the castle to begin the new fight for freedom.


	7. Chapter Six: Redemption

_Draco's Perspective_

By the time I got back to Hogwarts, the entrance was cleared and everyone had scattered. I ran blindly into the rubble, just looking for a sign to tell me what I was doing back here. I saw no one, and it was eerily quiet. Never had I seen Hogwarts this empty, and knowing that I was basically the only Slytherin still here wasn't very comforting.

After a few minutes of wandering around, I came across the form of a student standing with my back to me. I padded up behind him, his cardigan wrinkled and bloodstained. He stood motionless with a sword in his hand.

Breaking the silence, I asked the question that had been on my mind. "Where's Hermione?"

Neville spun around, and I ducked just fast enough to avoid the blade in my face. He swung madly at me, missing by mere inches every time. I had fallen backwards and was trying to scuttle away, but Neville, with one last effort, swung the sword blindly from over his head. I saw I fly out of his hands and landed to the side of us. We made eye contact for a brief second, then both dived for it. I was faster and lighter then him, allowing me an advantage, and I felt some pride as I grasped the handle before he did.

He backed up, reaching for his wand. With the sword in my hand, I couldn't grab my wand, but if I dropped it, he would grab it. And I had to know where Hermione was.

"Wait!" I called. He turned and I dropped the sword. His facial expression didn't change, but I knew he was curious. "I'm not going to attack. I'm here to help. To help you! Trust me!"

"Why should I? You never gave me any reason to trust you in the past Malfoy!" he spat.

"If I wasn't trustworthy, would I have dropped the sword?" I asked. He didn't answer.

I sighed and bent down to pick it up. In those few seconds, he had taken out his wand and it was aimed at my chest.

"Really now, just watch. If you want some good force, you have to hold it like this… see? You have more traction. And you have to swing like this. If you want the death blow, like you obviously do, you have to bring it around from one shoulder down to the other. I swear, if you are tall and in close enough proximity, that is just as good as the killing curse. See?" I explained, demonstrating with his wand still pointed at me. He didn't move, but I grabbed the sharp end of the blade, and tossed the handle to him. He caught it perfectly with his left hand. I was slightly annoyed that he did it that easily.

I motioned for him to go ahead, but he lowered the sword and stowed his wand. I gave him a look. "You are a Slytherin. If you really were on his side, you would have disapparated by now." I wanted to argue, but I had thought of it.

"Try it," I said, swinging my imaginary sword.

He did, and executed it flawlessly.

"You asked where Hermione was? Last thing I heard she was running around looking for the last horcrux. That's what I'm doing too," he explained, not a trace of doubt evident in his stance.

"Thanks Neville. I owe you." I said, running off to where I knew she would be.

Normally, this run would have winded even me, but I ignored my body aching to stop and ran on. I had nearly completely crossed the castle when I was almost hit by a rock.

"Oi! Stupid! Little help!" Weasel called from the top of the staircase. I could not afford the distraction, but he probably knew where she was. He wouldn't have the information I needed, but he would know how to get it. I ran up the stairs and nearly stepped on him as I reached the top. He had his ankle caught in various pieces of debris and his wand was just out of reach. When I was younger I would have laughed, but I didn't find much funny anymore.

I lifted the stones away from him and handed him his wand off the floor. He nodded his thanks and tore off down the hall. I was quite surprised, but I took off behind him, in hot pursuit. He rounded a corner and I was right on his heels. There was a girl stumbling along ahead, but my pace was slowing from exhaustion. Ron pulled ahead and gave me a look before wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Draco?" she gasped, whipping her head around looking at Ron. He looked slightly deflated, but Hermione wrapped her arm around him anyway. I pulled up on her other side and she gasped. Her mouth hanging open, she didn't say anything to me.

"What's going on? What does Potter need to do to kill The Dark - Voldemort?" I asked her, pushing through the awkwardness.

"There is still one horcrux… the snake. And he knows we are after it, but he is a little busy dealing with Harry at the moment. We have no way to kill it and even if we did, we would still have to kill him…"

"So what you really need is time?"

"Exactly!"

"That…" I said, "is something I can make. It won't be a lot, but it will be more."

"What do you think you are going to do-" Ron started, but Hermione cut him off.

"No, Draco you can't. No. Absolutely not." She said, fear evident on her face.

I smirked. "What difference does it make to you? You've got your boyfriend Weasel over here and I'm just a Deatheater anyway. Nobody will know the difference."

"Draco, NO!" she demanded. "You are not going to just _die_ to give us time!"

"That didn't stop Potter."

"But he was a _horcrux! _He _had to!"_ she pleaded. Again I ignored her.

I spun around and began to walk away.

"Please Draco," she pleaded at my back. I didn't turn, I had made up my mind.

"Well?" I responded.

"What do you want me to do to make you stay?" she asked.

"What WOULD you do?" I taunted. After a few seconds, she responded.

"Anything."

I sighed and turned around. "This time I'm choosing. Nobody chose this for me, I'm defying the rules. It's what I want. I need redemption, and this is the only way I will get it."

Her chin dropped in defeat. I couldn't just leave that as my last words to her, I had to give her some reassurance.

"All of the answers; they are inside you. You just have to remember," I said. Even I didn't even know what I meant, but her head shot up and her eyes lit up. That was all the affirmation I needed. I took a deep breath and disapparated.

_Hermione's Perspective_

Of course! My memories! I looked up just in time to see him disappear. Shoot! But I had to do as he said, I needed to knock some sense into him. I sprinted off to the Headmaster's office to use the pensieve. I needed those memories if I wanted to save Draco.


	8. Chapter Seven: War

_Draco's Perspective_

Due to Snape's lift on the anti-apparition spells, I was able to easily travel the grounds in less than a second. The first place I thought of was the Great Hall. With the Death Eaters back, they had found their way into the area where the dead and injured were situated. They were the easiest targets after all. No one had heard me apparate in, and nobody had caught sight of me yet. I cast a disillusionment charm on myself, and began to dodge through the battle.

Looking for any clue, I stalked forwards. I tried to be as quiet as possible, even though nobody would hear me anyway. I sidestepped around Death Eaters and students alike. Neville was being helped in by Ginny Weasley, and they were trying to avoid being seen, but my Aunt spotted them. Bellatrix laughed and hit Neville with a spell, causing him to fly backwards. Unconscious, Ginny tried to revive him, but Bellatrix was skidding up to her as well. Ginny strategically moved away from Neville taking Bellatrix with her. I padded up to the Gryffindor boy and again said the unforgivable word.

"Imperious." I said, aiming at Neville. Merlin, I hated the unforgivables. But at least I was trying to use them for goodness, right? "Stand. Open your eyes. Walk beside me." I commanded. He followed obediently. I sat him down on a cot in the middle of the room. I then lifted the curse and he flopped, limp, down.

Taking the bottle that I had used on Hermione from my pocket, I caught a glimpse of Ginny and Bellatrix dueling. She better not get hurt, I didn't have enough time OR potion for her. I unstoppered it, and poured it into Neville's mouth. I saved a few drops, just in case. He started to bleed where the potion touched him, and I felt horrible when I realized that I didn't have the second half to making the potion work. There was no possible way that I had "The bite from the one the victim truly belongs, given willingly to the sight on infection". Somehow, I don't think that Neville would belong to me. I get the feeling that he isn't gay. And I'm not very willing either. I don't think it would work like that. But I didn't think it would work for Hermione either… I pushed that thought from my mind. I couldn't afford to think about Hermione right now, and I definitely was not biting Neville on his mouth.

"Draco?" a sing-song voice came from behind me. Luna smiled at me, even though I was still invisible. How... I didn't question. It was Luna. Her face was pretty banged up, but she still had a distant smile. She gestured to Neville, the smile no longer accounted for. "Is he gone?"

I swallowed hard, then nodded. Realizing she couldn't really see me, I spoke my words aloud. "I think so. I'm sorry. I tried." I couldn't imagine why I would possibly be apologizing to her, but I also couldn't find any reason not to. Far too many lives had been lost with far too little accomplished. I realized for the first time how much Luna and I had in common. It was madness. But I felt as if we were connected for that moment. Both losing so much, with no one respecting us for it. Didn't anyone see? Couldn't anyone tell what we had gone through? Of course, I thought my suffering was worse than hers. She smiled again, and I wondered why. What could she possibly have to smile about at this moment? I watched her lean over to where Neville lay dying in front of us. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. I held my breath as her teeth hit his mouth as she pulled back.

Neville's hand moved the slightest bit, and the bleeding stopped. I wanted to cheer, but that would give me away to others. Man, this really was a battle of love and war.

"Come Draco, we must leave. He won't want to know that it was you that saved him. I think he will be quite angry. Don't you?" Luna said with a kind look. I would never understand this Lovegood girl, but she was so honest that I couldn't argue. I walked out beside her, as equals. We went aimlessly walking a while, and entered an empty hallway. I didn't know why. But I didn't see any Deatheaters or Order members so I followed her. I lifted the charm off of myself, and faced the long haired girl.

"You are probably looking for Harry. I heard that he was in the clock tower. Such an odd place to duel, don't you think? I would think that Voldemort would either want a big audience or somewhere with significance. Like the Headmaster's office - you know? By the way Draco, you know that no one really likes you. You may want to consider working completely alone. The Deatheaters know you betrayed them, and none of Harry's side really trust you. Not that that matters really, just watch who you talk to." she said in her fluid voice, with a kind smile. I tried not to laugh. Insulting and complimenting me at the same time. And this was the longest conversation I'd ever had with her.

"Thanks Luna, I know. I'll try the Headmaster's office now. It's a good place to start. You were loads of help."

"Oh, not a problem Draco. And I appreciate how you called my Luna. I rather like it, and it is the first time you've used my real first name to me, instead of calling my Loony. Good luck finding him!"

I began to run the other direction, but something was bothering me. I turned back to face Luna who was still gazing in my direction.

"Luna?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"How did you know I was there?"

She smiled bigger, showing her teeth. "Wrackspurts, your head is full of them!"

This time, I couldn't contain my laughter. I remember seeing her laugh as well as I turned and apparated to the Headmaster's office.

_Hermione's Perspective_

The memories became a blur and I pulled up. What I had overlooked before had been brought out. I knew what to do. I ran from the Headmaster's office to find Draco.

I was literally sprinting towards the door, trying to think of the first place Draco would be. I was thinking so hard that I ran smack into the blond apparition's chest as he entered the office. Draco caught me in his arms and smiled down at me, swallowing hard which made me wonder what he was thinking.


	9. Chapter Eight Love

Before I started I just wanted to thank all of you amazing people for reading this! It was my first fanfiction ever and the amount of support for it is amazing! You guys are amazing! This is a very very long chapter, hence why it took so long to write, and thank you all for being so patient while waiting! I hope you enjoy, you guys rock! :)

* * *

I caught her as she was about to fall, and I swallowed hard. Of course, the one person that I really did NOT want to run into. I smiled shyly down at her, and before I could say anything, her tongue was racing away.

"Draco I saw the memories. The ones you told me to remember. I didn't know which ones they were at the time, but I put them in the Pensieve and watched them. You told me that all of the answers were inside of me, and they were! I know now Draco! You can't leave because I love yo-" she sped, before stopping abruptly at seeing the shocked expression on my face. Leave it to Hermione to over think what I said. But maybe that HAD been what I meant after all…

"Did I say too much?" she asked, scared. I hadn't realized I was still holding her, but avoiding her eyes at the same time. I let her go, sighed, and started to walk towards the Pensieve. I needed her busy for at least a little while longer so she wouldn't do anything to get in the way of my plan.

"Don't walk away from me Draco!" she screeched behind me, but I didn't turn. I drew my wand up to my head, and removed all of the memories I could possibly think of to entertain her. I flicked them into the Pensieve and turned to her, leaning against the wall. She looked quizzically at me, and I motioned her over. She took hesitant steps towards me, and stood comfortably close to my hip when she stopped.

"Well? Do you want to see my side?" I asked her, a bit sarcastically.

"You just want to distract me so you can leave."

"I wouldn't think of it."

"Oh really? How do I know?"

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. "I want to see your reaction. I'll watch you watch them. 'Kay?"

She cocked her head at me and nodded once. She gave me a bit of a look as she was about to enter my memories.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Better now then never. You know as well as I do we may not get another chance," I joked. She didn't look convinced. I frowned a bit, and put my hand on her shoulder. "I'm not going to apparate away or anything. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do! That's not what I meant -"

"Then dive in. Not a moment to waste," I smiled, with a little too much fakery, but she bought it, and she put her face into the water.

I watched her for a few seconds before taking my hand off of her shoulder. I technically hadn't lied, I wasn't going to apparate away, I did watch her, and I didn't think about leaving, I had to. I grabbed the broom that had been mounted on the wall as a reminder of Umbridge's time as Headmistress. I exploded the window, and with one last look at Hermione, I hesitated. I walked over, pushed her hair from her neck and kissed the back softly. I caressed her neck as she was lost in my memories. I closed my eyes softly before walking back over to the open window. I mounted and kicked off, sending dust out from under me as a flew out into the night. The cold air hit me like a bullet, and as I soared over Hogwarts, a small tear began to fall down my cheek. And it wasn't just from the wind.

Lucius' face entered through the door.

"Narcissa!" He hissed.

She came, holding the hand of her young child, perhaps four or five years of age. I grinned and ran forwards.

"DADDY!" I cried. Arms outstreached, I fumbled over to my father, a toothy smile completely evident on my face.

Lucius grabbed a fist-full of my hair and sent me off balance. I tumbled down on my behind, every trace of the happiness gone on my face. I stared dazed at my mother, who looked shocked and worried. But Draco did not cry out.

"Narcissa, control your child! He is a Pureblood, not a swine!" Lucius boomed, looming like a shadow in the room.

The scene changed. Lucius handed Draco a few large, shiny coins, not making eyecontact with his son.

"Go buy some robes. I'm going to the book store. Your mother will be here to buy your robes when she is done looking at wands. Only talk to people who are worthy, remember what we say about those Mudbloods? Don't disappoint me."

"Dad, where am I to go to get my robes?" I asked, examining one of the particularly shiny coins. I was so intrigued that I didn't see the blow coming, and didn't have time to dodge it, as I had learned to do in the past. I automatically reached up and touched my cheek where the back of my father's hand had struck me.

"Madame Malkin's, you stupid child." He swirled around and stalked down the street, robes flowing out behind him.

I sighed and looked around. Many people were passing me by in every direction, and it was an awfully big place for a young boy to be alone. I glanced around with a frown, until I picked out the man who he thought looked like he must be the most important one in the Alley. He looked tall and he was wearing black. Purebloods wore black, didn't they? At least his father did sometimes. He really didn't know many other people out of his immediate family to compare them to. Keeping my head down, I made my way over to the cloaked man.

"Excuse me, could you direct me to Madame Mookins' robe shop?"

The man sneered, his nostrils moving up the slightest bit. "It's Madame Malkin's. I will walk you there."

"Thank you," I whispered, eyes down and with the slightest bit of a blush starting in my cheeks.

"I'm not doing it for you, Draco. I just don't want you to be the only one to show up without robes," the man said, walking quickly forwards, almost so fast that I had to run to keep up. For the first time, I looked up to the man's face.

"Sir, how did you know who I am?" I asked.

The man smirked, lowering his face so that I could make it out finally. I grinned back up at one of my favourite adults. He was far more a father to me than the Godfather he really was. And he acted more like my father than my real father did. I had always had a good eye for seeing the good people in a crowd, and I had not been deceived this time.

"Sorry Professor Snape, I didn't know it was you."

"So formal Draco. I will be seeing you at the Slytherin table in a few days I presume. Until then, I bid you a due, and good luck." Snape said, before he also wheeled off leaving me in a panic, and alone again.

I looked up. Madam Malkin's friendly sign smiled down at me, and I immediately regretted doubting Snape. I stuck my nose up in the air and pushed open the heavy door. I had to act like I wanted to be here alone. Like I wasn't so lonely on the inside.

A rather pleasant woman looked up from the front desk. "Hello! Are you here for Hogwarts uniforms? Or perhaps Durmstrang? You look like a Durmstrang lad to me."

I felt a little sting of pride inside of me. "I'm Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy. Perhaps you have heard of him. I am going to Hogwarts, not some school for big apes who cannot control their temper."

The woman smiled like she knew something I didn't. "Right this way please, Marie will look after fitting you."

I followed the woman to the back of the store, where a petite brunette was already gathering measuring tapes and scissors out of drawers and black fabrics. She set them all down on the table and turned towards me. She stood me up so that I was facing a large mirror, and she flicked her wand a few times, causing fabric to zoom by and scissors to work on their own. I was not impressed, rather bored with it all. Some impressive magic would be to see the robes already be made. No measuring or cutting. I'd like to see that! After a few minutes of the annoying whoosh sound, I heard the door open and a conversation taking place. A few seconds later, another boy was standing on the stool beside me, the same fabrics being pulled out of peculiar looking drawers and cupboards.

The woman from the front desk slipped a robe above his head. This gave just enough time for me to get a good look at him without being too obvious. He had black hair, which was typically the colour of the major pureblood families. The boy looked comfortable, and had a rich air around him. I decided that he was okay, and his father would approve.

"Hullo," I said to the boy, "Hogwarts too?"

"Yes," replied the boy simply. I secretly felt relieved. He was obviously important if he didn't say a big response to a stranger. So Draco kept talking.

"My father's next door buying my books, and mother's up the street looking at wands," I explained, trying to sound unenthusiastic as possible. I racked my brain for something impressive. Something that would strike this boy off guard. Then it hit me. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow." There. That screamed impressive and I was proud of himself.

The boy looked slightly disgusted, and didn't say anything. I felt slightly embarrassed. I hadn't given the boy anything to reply to. Isn't that what conversations were about? Asking questions and getting answers? Although I didn't know. I never made a friend by myself before. Father always brought people to me. They always feared me and there was no point in conversation.

Trying to back-paddle, I said, "have _you_ got your own broom?"

"No," said the boy.

I studied him for a second. I couldn't tell if he was being difficult or shy. Was I doing something wrong?

"Play Quidditch at all?" I asked as an icebreaker.

"No." The boy looked a bit confused. I felt the awkwardness setting in, so I decided it was time to talk again instead of asking questions.

"_I _do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"No." The boy was starting to look a little frustrated. Trying to make him feel better, I again tried to backpaddle.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all of my family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" I felt it was safe to say, because this boy wasn't a Hufflepuff at all. He would have been chatting right now if he was. And I couldn't picture him in yellow at all.

"Mmm," was his only reply. I looked around the room for something else to talk about. With perfect timing, a very large man with a beard was staring in the front door.

"I say, look at that man!" I shouted, excited to start a conversation the boy couldn't ignore. I nodded in the direction of the door. The man had an ice cream in each of his hands, and it definitely didn't look like he needed two more ice creams in his system.

"That's Hagrid, he works at Hogwarts!" the boy said with a grin.

"Oh! I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?" I replied, glad to have a more then one-word answer. I was content maybe we could be friends. I decided from that moment that the boy would be someone special, and I should stick around him.

The scene shifted. Narcissa was bending beside Draco, fixing his tie.

"I'm so proud of you sweetie. Whatever house you get sorted into, whatever your father says, it will be okay. The sorting hat knows what it's doing, and you will be put where you belong. Don't worry," she whispered to me with a smile.

"But Mum, what if I don't make any friends. What if all of my friends are in Slytherin and I'm not?"

"Don't worry Draco, everything has a way of working itself out. You better hop on, you don't want to miss the train your first year!"

I bit the inside of my lip and reached my arms out to hug my mother, a gesture I hadn't done in years. "I love you Mum."

"I love you too Draco. Have fun, and be the brave boy I know you are. Just be yourself," she said hugging me back gently. And with that, I stepped onto the Hogwarts express for the first time. Without a single look back, I made his way to his seat.

The scene again changed. I was holding his hand out to the same boy from the shop, whom had now been identified as Harry Potter. I was eager to get to know THE Harry Potter, my new friend. I knew he had been special, I knew it!

Harry just stared at my hand, not taking it. "I think that I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks." he responded to my statement coolly. I could not be any more shocked. No one my age had ever talked to me like that before. I wanted to get him back. I wanted to make Harry Potter look like as much of an idiot as I felt like. I could feel a bit of heat starting to creep into my cheeks.

"I'd be careful if I were you Potter, unless you are a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them either. You hang around with riff-raff like the Weasleys and Hagrid and it'll rub off on you." There. I said it. The worst thing I could possibly think of. Right to Potter's face.

Both Potter and his little Weasley friend, the one that had weaseled his way in between Draco and Potter's friendship, both stood up. The Weasel, which I found an appropriate name for him, was as red as his bright ginger hair. Good, as I thought.

"Say that again." Weasel challenged.

"Oh, going to fight us, are you?" I sneered. I was unafraid of the boy who stood in front of me. I was more worried about what Potter thought of me.

"Unless you get out now," Potter glared at me. I could see that Harry was sizing up my old pureblood friends, Crabbe and Goyle.

I, for the second time, had been embarrassed by this Potter child. I was starting to think that Potter just didn't want anything to do with me at all. "But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."

I snapped my fingers, and Goyle reached out to grab a handful of chocolate frogs from the seat next to Weasel's. He lunged at Goyle, but before he could even get ahold of him, Goyle screeched and reeled backwards waving his hand frantically. I watched with wide eyes as my friend tried to throw the rodent off of his hand. When Goyle finally shook it off, he tapped Crabbe on the chest, motioning for them to leave. The others were happy enough to oblige. Myself, wanting to assert my dominance, stepped out first - right into a girl, walking down the corridor.

I grabbed her shoulders, half steadying myself, half sizing her up. She had bushy brown hair, rather large teeth, and very frumpy clothing. I decided that his father would not approve of her, and tried to continue walking forward, but she was in his way.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking at her shoes. I didn't say anything to her, just made a scene of stepping around her. Still looking at her, I went to pass. She was still looking down as I slipped by her, but something in her appearance changed as I did. From that angle, she almost looked… pretty. I looked away and kept walking.

The scene shifted.

"Malfoy, Draco!" A stern-looking woman called from the head of the Great Hall. The crowd was hushed, and I straightened up and smiled going confidently to the front. I sat down and waited. Before I could even feel the hat on his head, it screamed "SLYTHERIN!"

I had never felt like I had ever pleased my father more.

The scene again changed. It was Christmas break, and Draco was home, discussing with his father.

"How could there possibly still be another student beating you in grades Draco? If you really are doing everything you say you are, you should be on top. No questions. I'm dissappointed in you," Lucius spat at his son from across the table.

My eyes dropped.

"It's a girl. Hermione Granger. I don't know where she learned magic before Hogwarts, but she is better then most of the nitwit first years combined. I don't know how she does it," I replied quietly, fiddling with a loose string on my sleeve. Lucius' face broke into a sinister smile.

"This Granger girl… any relation to Hector Dagworth-Granger? If she is, I presume she is… worthy of status? A pureblood?"

I sighed and bit the inside of my lip. "She is a Muggleborn, father."

Lucius slammed his coffee cup that he had been holding onto the table, spilling some and making an excessively loud noise.

"You DARE to speak of a Mudblood in my house? And this Mudblood is SMARTER then you? Is BEATING you?"

"I'm sorry father, I'm trying my best, I-"

"Well your best isn't good enough! Put this Mudblood in her place, or you are no son of mine!" he shouted.

I picked up a quill that was lying on the table. I studied it, trying to gather my courage.

"Father?"

"What do you want child?"

"Why do we have to hate Mudbloods?" I asked, purposely spitting out the last word.

Lucius smiled slightly, as if it were a joke. "They are defiling us of our freedom as wizards. Our grace and dignity. Picture…" he paused. "Picture breeding an owl with a gull. The owl, full of power and grace, breeding with the gull, an ugly nuisance. The owl is disgracing himself, knocking out the pure, noble blood of the powerful, and bringing in the unclean. Whatever children they have won't be as beautiful or as charming as the owl once was, because now it has the traitors blood. It is no longer worthy to be called an owl, and is really just a gull stuck in the owls skin, bringing disgrace to the rest of the owls."

I nodded. "But what if the owl didn't care? What if the owl wanted to be different then the other owls?" I asked innocently.

My father glared back. "No one in their right mind would disgrace a bloodline like that. And if they did, they would be disowned. It would be a great disgrace to that owl's family; a crime worthy of being sent away to rot with the type they love."

I gulped, and fake nodded. It was then that I realized that Hermione and I would never work. I had no choice but to keep the owl line going. The pureblood line. All I ever wanted was to make my father proud, and this seemed to be the way to do it. We would never be able to love. It was doomed from the start.

The scene again changed. I was standing with the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team, the Gryffindor team and a few others standing in front of me.

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to BUY their way in. They got in on pure talent." Hermione said, with a bit of sass.

I stepped forwards to face her and narrowed my eyes, channeling my anger into my gaze. "No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood." I replied, causing everyone around to gasp. Hermione looked at him, trying to hide her hurt. Oliver waved back his team, trying to keep the Gryffindor's calm. He couldn't afford to loose any players and he knew it. Ron drew his wand and growled.

"You'll pay for that one Malfoy. EAT SLUGS!" He screamed, flicking his broken wand at me. Hermione watched with wide eyes as the flash of green light rebounded, sending Ron flying through the air and landing in a heap. All of the Gryffindors took off across the clearing to come to his aid.

"Are you okay Ron?" Hermione questioned worriedly.

Shifting, the scene jumped a few years. As the black settled, I stormed into the prefect's carraige on the Hogwarts Express.

I followed Pansy into the nearly empty carriage. The only person in the carriage just so happened to be the only person I knew for sure would be a prefect. My favourite mudblood. And, predictably, she was already reading.

As if Pansy read my mind, she smirked, and spat, "already studying Granger?"

I bit back a smile and a laugh at Hermione's expression. I had learned to hate her. Ignore the way her body was filling out and focus on what a know it all she is. Ignore her voice and focus on the way she hated my friends. But one thing I couldn't ignore was the way she looked at Pansy. Almost as if in envy.

Pansy and I sat down opposite Hermione and smirked. Ron Weasley entered a few seconds later, much to the shock of the Slytherins. Why wasn't it Potter? He was the obvious choice, but where was he? Hannah Abbott, Padma Patil, Ernie Macmillan and finally Anthony Goldstein settled into the carriage from fifth year, and several other sixth and seventh years filed in as well. I was disappointed, I had expected higher caliber wizard to form the highest group in the school, but my father had warned me of that. Only Slytherins seemed to care about noble blood, so it wasn't really a surprise having these hooligans with a Headmaster that was a Gryffindor. Looking around, I listed all of the ways each would mess it all up. I looked from Pansy, then down to my lap and smirked. When the best was already taken, who else was to compare? After a while, the Head boy and girl also came into the carriage, and everyone sat still. Hermione took out a long parchment and a simple quill and began to write. Pansy and I held back laughter, stealing glances at each other, nearly grabbing hands.

What felt like an eternity later, my counterpart and I gathered our things and headed for the Slytherin carriage. As soon we were alone, Pansy turned and snapped at me.

"What the Hell was that about!" she snipped at me. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she got close into my face and snarled. Under other circumstances, I probably would have kissed her, but at the moment she was really getting on my nerves.

"You volunteered to go with the Mudblood. What are you DOING? You could have been with me!" she spat. I rolled my eyes and stepped away from her.

"Are you jealous Parkinson?" I smirked, and turned his back, walking away, but before I could even take a few steps, Pansy had grabbed my shoulder and came into stride with me. She gently started rubbing it, almost like a massage.

"Of course I am. It could have been you and me," she whispered in my ear, running her hand down his arm. I looked down at her and smirked slightly, leaning down so my lips were hovering just out of reach from hers.

"We will talk when I'm done, okay?"

She nodded, and removed her hand, giving me a soft kiss on the corner of my lips before going off. I started patrolling the carriages, taking the Hufflepuff and Slytherin sections. I really didn't have much work to do; all of the Hufflepuffs were scared of me (as they should be), and the Slytherin's weren't stupid enough to push their luck on the first day. Especially with a Malfoy. So I ended up spending most of my time in the first years' carriage. Ever since my second year, I had been mentally sorting people, before I knew which house they were in. It was a hobby of mine, and I felt even more proud when I got it right. I was getting rather good at it too.

I popped into each of the cubbies, seeing the amusing scenes going on inside. There was one with a boy stuffing his face with food from the trolley, sitting with a skinny girl who was playing with her wand, and a girl who was watching them with destain. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin. The next contained two boys who were wrestling on the floor, a girl cheering them on and laughing, and a boy whooping loudly. They annoyed me to no extent. After separating them, I knew they all had to be Gryffindor. Across the hall, a carriage with a girl bragging about her Mother's influence in the ministry, a boy listening with wide eyes, another girl trying to out-do her and a boy throwing in points of his own. Slytherin, or perhaps Gryffindor for the first, Hufflepuff the second, Gryffindor and Slytherin. I had only recognized one pureblood.

Time passed quicker then I expected and I stalked back to the Slytherin carriage for the last two minutes. I hadn't gone two steps before Pansy dragged me inside her compartment. She kissed me hotly, dragged me down to the seat and straddled my lap, kissing my neck and biting softly.

"How was the mudblood?" She whispered with a sly grin, her hands still all over me, letting them go freely.

"I didn't see her," I answered curtly, pulling away from her. Her lip curled up at me and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Were you looking?" She asked sarcastically and hurtfully.

I sighed. "She's a mudblood, what use do I have with her? You know, you're really not attractive when you're jealous."

"Don't start with that again Draco. We both know she is the only girl in all of Hogwarts that wouldn't let you get into her pants. That's why you don't like her."

I tensed, my jaw working. "Well I'm sorry not all girls are slags like you, Pansy."

With that, I got up, dumping her on the floor. Spinning on my heel, I walked into the prefects carriage, leaving Pansy sputtering behind me. I shut the door quietly and laid down across one of the seats in the empty carriage. I let my mind wander. Was Pansy right? Was that really the reason I didn't like her?

I concluded that she was somewhat right.

It wasn't that she was the only girl not taken with me, it was that she was the only girl I had ever wanted that I couldn't have. And that made me want her even more. I wanted her so badly that it made me hate her for not being able to have her. If I couldn't have her, why on earth should she be happy with someone else?

I basked in the sounds of silence as the train moved forward. I brought the memories forward again, something I hadn't done in a long time. I used to really like Hermione until I got my father's take on her. At the beginning, not having a chance with her made me want her more then anything. But slowly my feelings were hidden behind a thick layer of lies and bitter exchanges of words. I started forcing myself to notice every flaw. Slowly but surely, I started to hate her for what she did to me. I thought it was for the best. She had that little blood traitor and Potter, who had never worked for anything a day in his life as it appeared to me. He got everything he wanted, denied me when I was only trying to be nice, and that was that. He complained about not having a family. Ha! I'd switch places with him any day of the week!

I pondered. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to give up on Hermione. Lately my father and I hadn't been seeing eye to eye. Of course there was always the issue of blood status, but I could see myself working to get over it. Even if I'd been raised to see only worthy purebloods, I wasn't my father. And I never planned to become anything like him either. She was smart enough to be a pureblood, wasn't she?

I looked up at the ceiling. One branch of divination I had always been good at in times like these popped into my head; variables. To think of several options, and whichever came forwards was that of which was meant to happen. I thought a while and looked around the empty carriage.

"If Pansy comes through the door first, I'm meant to stay with her. If it happens to be Hermione, I am meant to be with her. A Weasley and it's someone I have known a while but don't expect. Anyone else and it's someone that I haven't met yet."

My whispers seemed to echo off the walls and I settled down to wait. Only a few minutes later, the door to the carriage was opened with a ruckus of laughter and stomping feet.

"Well Hermione, what we are doing is nothing personal," George Weasley said from just outside the door.

"Just business!" Fred chuckled. They gently pushed Hermione into the prefects carraige and I smiled without thinking as her feet hit the ground. The fleeting thought of hoping I was right ran through my mind.

"Sorry," Fred said insincerely, with a grin.

"Yeah, really, we will let you out when we're ready for your lecture - if we remember!" George laughed.

They shut the door just as Hermione was about to push past them. Both she and I heard the click of the lock.

"Alohamora!" She cried, stressed. Nothing happened, predictably.

I propped his head up on my hand, my elbow comfortably sitting on the soft seat. "What did you do now Granger?" I asked calmly, smiling softly. She spun around, fuming, but a confused look entered her face as her eyes landed on mine. She had the prettiest eyes...

"I guess we'll be stuck with each other for a while then," I said with a safe smile. I internally scolded myself for being so awkward. I moved over slightly to make room for her. She didn't move, and looked at me like it was some sort of trap.

"Well?" I asked accusingly while patting the seat next to me, motioning for her to sit down. She hesitantly walked over and sat beside my head, which I gently put on her lap. She was about to smack me, but I sighed and smiled with my eyes closed, and I could feel her hand drop to her side next to my hair. I opened one eye as she looked around, as if to see if it was some sort of prank.

I opened my other eye and smiled up at her. "Is this okay or should I move?"

"I don't really like it Malfoy, but I'd prefer this over whatever else you may have planned." I smirked and closed my eyes again, turning my cheek on her thigh. It felt so wrong, yet so right. As my mother had told me several years ago, 'you'd be surprised how often disgust could turn to lust'. But that couldn't happen.

Could it?

The scene shifted. I was facing Hermione in the prefects' bathroom. I stood tense and defensive, trying to keep myself calm and collected, while she stood softly and welcoming.

"Draco, honestly, you can trust me." She sighed comfortingly. I bit my tongue lightly, stopping myself from either running into her arms or hurting her.

"No, I can't. You can't help me."

"I'm not going anywhere Draco. I know you've been in the room of requirement. Please, don't do anything stupid. I can help you. We can do it together."

I laughed painfully at the irony. Hermione helping me with what I was about to do. Very. Likely.

"You don't understand. You can't help me."

"Draco," she whispered, stepping forwards.

"Just go. Trust me, you will show me no sympathy again. Not after tonight." I looked down, all of the progress I had made with her useless now. All of those nights of patrolling together, surprising her in odd places, just becoming her friend in secret, all gone. Useless.

Upon seeing me, Hermione closed the gap between us in a matter of seconds. She gently wrapped her arms around me and I inhaled sharply. Her actions sent me over the edge. I really had allowed myself to fall for her. In vain, none the less. Not in this entire time of training and pain had anyone offered me condolence. I didn't struggle against her. I simply choked in my throat once and my emotions escaped. Why me? Why had I gotten roped into it? I wasn't my father and this wasn't my fault! Why did she choose now to touch me so tenderly? My anger, fright and frustration escaped me and I leaned into her and wept.

She didn't let me go. She stayed still with her arms around me securely. I was careful not to make a sound. I held my body at an unnatural angle, way too tall to be hugging her the way I was, with my my head on her shoulder. A normally impossible task for my tall, slender frame, but I was determined. I slowly snaked my arms around her waist, wanting to feel her for the last time. I allowed her time to push me away, which I half hoped she would do, but she only held me tighter. I pulled her against my body and we held each other snugly. My sobs rocked my entire body with spread to hers. How could I go on after this? I convulsed several times as I cried, until I finally started to pull myself together and stop feeling sorry for myself. Eventually, they stopped and I sighed into her shoulder. I squeezed her tightly, an embrace half crying for help and half begging her to leave me alone. I closed my eyes and debated on kissing her before pulling away.

"You are such an amazing witch, Hermione." I whispered painfully to her. "Stay in your common room tonight. Stay out of the danger. Please, please, remember that I'm not the one that signed up for this. I was chosen, I didn't choose. I never wanted this to happen. Stay safe. Try to remember these past years. How we became friends. You don't have to tell Potter and Weasel-" I stopped myself and saved it at the last second, "-y. I'll miss you when I'm gone and you hate me." I forced a small smile and looked at her. She could tell it was a sad smile just the same.

"Draco, I don't understand? What are you trying to say?" She asked calmly. I went to reach for her hand, but pulled away before we touched.

"You will know soon enough. I can't tell you - but really, make sure you rub it in Pansy's space that you were the last one to comfort me. Not her." I tried to comfort her. I was perfectly fine that Pansy had cheated on me with Blaise earlier that year. I always knew she was a little slag. But she wasn't over me. I knew the only reason she did it was to get my attention, but in sixth year I was already too preoccupied to worry about her anyways. I was glad to be rid of her. I looked at Hermione and made a mental note that that was just another reason we didn't have a chance in Hell. I had far too much on my mind for things like that.

"Why Draco?" She asked, getting slightly frustrated at how little I was telling her. I hated seeing her upset, so I gave in. Without a word, I sighed with scared emotion and rolled up my sleeve. The black snake danced on my arm and she screamed.

"Hermione, please, I can explain!" I whispered, my face demented with agony at her reaction.

The scene again shifted in a puff of black.

Hermione was being restrained by Fenrir Greyback, and Harry was being held by Bellatrix in front of her.

"Well?" she peeped.

"I can't be sure." I whispered, watching Harry's face. It was obviously him. But we needed him to end the war. And giving him up meant giving up his friends.

"Draco, look closely son." Malfoy said to him, grabbing the back of my neck. I shivered and was scared my father would choke me. "If we are the ones to hand Potter over to the Dark Lord, everything will be.. Well it will all be better for us. Do you understand?" I shivered once more, rolling the thought of freedom in my head.

"Now we won't be forgetting who actually caught him, I hope, Mr. Malfoy?" Scabior slithered, stepping from beside Greyback and towards Malfoy.

"You dare to talk to me like that in my own house!" My father screamed, his grip tightening on my neck. I whimpered softly and tipped my head back away from the pain. I had been hurt under my father's hand before and I knew he wouldn't hesitate if he was angry.

"_Lucius!"_ My mother hissed, stepping towards us. He removed his hand from me and I relaxed, only having a tightness in my neck now. Mother gently dragged him away from me and I took a breath.

"Don't be shy sweetie, come over!" Bellatrix cooed, taking my hand and bringing me closer to Harry. I did love her. She was family. But she was scary and I knew she was only using me for her own gain. "Now, if this isn't who we think it is Draco," she ordered as I kneeled, "and we call him, he'll kill us all. We need to be absolutely sure."

I swallowed. "What's wrong with his face?" I asked. Normally, from a Malfoy, this would be taken as an insult, but I didn't say it like that. I was actually concerned for him. He was in pain. And he couldn't fight like this. Auntie Bella obviously didn't pick up on this.

"Yes, what IS wrong with his face?" she demanded.

"He came to us like that. Something he picked up in the forest I recon." Scabior responded, almost sounding bored.

"Like ran into a stinging jinx? Was it you dear?" She questioned, pointing her wand at Hermione. Greyback's grip tightened, and she didn't move. I looked down at the ground for a second, listening closely, knowing that turning to watch would also give them away. She couldn't get hurt. I wouldn't allow it. I quickly looked back to the bright green eyes as my Aunt again began to shout.

"Give me her wand! We'll see what her last spell was!" Bellatrix taunted. I leaned slightly back. I needed to buy them time somehow. Think, Malfoy, think! My father tapped me on the shoulder, and I jumped, too deep in thought to hear him coming. I stood beside my father obediently, not wanting to push my luck under his hand.

"Got you!" Bellatrix laughed, pointing at Hermione. She continued to laugh until she suddenly stopped and gasped.

Talking to one of the snatchers, she gasped, "What's that? Where did you get that from?"

"It was if her bag when we searched her. Recon it's mine now!" he replied with a smirk. The sword of Gryffindor moved in his hand as he talked.

Bellatrix hit him with a spell, the sword flying into her hands and in one swift movement, she slit the throat of another snatcher. She entangled Greyback's neck with the black curtains that hung from the walls. He made a choking sound. I watched in horror, standing a little closer to my father than I needed to.

"Are you mad?" Scabior screeched. Bellatrix turned to him and at once, his throat was entangled too and he was making the same choking noises. She dragged him towards her, and the choking increased.

"GO! GET OUT!" she screamed at Greyback and Scabior, releasing their throats. Holding their necks, they didn't question, and began to teeter towards the door.

"Put the boy in the cellar! We need to have a little conversation!" Bellatrix shouted as Mrs. Malfoy dragged Ron away. She got so close to Hermione's face that I shivered, looking almost like a kiss. Maybe a dementor's kiss. "GIRL TO GIRL!" she cried. I was breathing deeply, trying to think of what to do to protect her. She was a mudblood. I knew that. But if I hadn't had the pureblood expectations, I would have made her mine a long time ago. I took a small step forwards, fear on his face, but stopped. She'd kill me if I got between them. I couldn't protect her if I was dead.

Bellatrix pinned her to the floor and laid on top of her. "That sword is meant to be in my vault at Gringotts. How did you get it?" She whispered loudly, her face just inches from her. The panic was evident on her face and she was crying. I took another step forward, face demented in worry and pain for her.

"WHAT DID YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS TAKE FROM MY VAULT?" she screamed into her face. I winced, but not just because of her tone.

"We didn't take anything! Please! I didn't take anything!" she sobbed. I whimpered a bit in the back of my throat. I stared at the two of them on the floor, frowning and worried beyond composure. I played with my fingers, wanted to help. Why was I such a coward!

"I don't believe it." she spoke quickly, producing a sharp blade from her robes. She dug it into my love's skin. It went in so deep and it was so painful to watch. She screamed and the noise nearly made me sob. Hermione's screams filled the room and I balled my hands into fists, willing myself to go forward. I had to help her! I had to!

"Try again? What did you take?" she asked, cocking her head.

"Nothing!" she cried.

"LIAR!" she yelled, and dug the blade into she again. The screaming started again and I whined.

"IT'S A FAKE! THE SWORD IS A FAKE!" she sobbed. I winced back, knowing it was a lie. I whispered to myself that she had to be more believable.

Bellatrix sat up. "Wormtail, fetch the Goblin." She choked. He departed and went towards where Harry and Ron had just been taken. "We will see," she said. I let out the breath that I had been holding in. Hermione was safe, at least for now.

The scene shifted several times, just of me following Hermione before popping and disappearing. Hermione pulled up and she was crying.

_Hermione's perspective_

I called his name, over and over, but he was gone. The window was broken, and Draco Malfoy had slipped through my fingers again. I ran to the window where the glass was shattered and looked out. There seemed to be a commotion down in the hall, so that's where I sprinted off to, praying my Draco was alright.


End file.
